Greetings. It’s June. Those of you who are newly minted alumni may still be in recovery. Those of you who have been away for awhile may be curious as to how this last school year went—so here’s a little wrap-up for you.

We celebrated another year of amazing student work with the annual student exhibition, which will be up in the Canzani Center Gallery through June 14.

Two professors earn Teaching Excellence Awards

This year the Teaching Excellence Award was snagged by not one, but two professors—Mark Hazlerig (CCAD 1974 and 1977) and James Lutz (1978).

The recipients were selected from 57 nominations, which were solicited from students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Read the full story here.

Retiring professors say farewell

After serving CCAD for more than 40 years, Professor Ronald Tardino (CCAD 1971) retired this year, with a promise to come back and teach a couple classes and remain active in our community.

Adjunct faculty Ben Mahan (CCAD 1965) also retired after being an important part of the Illustration faculty for more than 35 years.

Fashion Show wows crowds again

The Senior Fashion Show was once again a great success, raising nearly $200,000 for scholarships. See pictures and read more about it here.

‘Fab Lab’ debuts

The new 3D printing lab, dubbed the “Fab Lab,” is up and running in Kinney Hall thanks to a generous donation from Nancy and Tad Jeffrey.

CCAD named Center of Excellence

On April 26, CCAD was officially declared a Center of Excellence by Toon Boom, a global leader in digital content and animation software. We are the first college or university in the U. S. to receive the honor.

Exhibitions and Visiting Artists

Director of Exhibitions Michael Goodson produced, yet again, a fantastic lineup for the school year. We saw group exhibitions such as Simulacrum and Wall that mixed local, national, and international artists, as well as solo exhibitions that brought artists such as Todd Slaughter and Byron Kim to campus not only to show their work but to discuss it in visiting artist presentations.

In addition, Goodson, CCAD faculty, and the MindMarket curated a healthy mix of other creative visitors, ranging from graphic designer superstar Stefan Sagmeister to Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds, and activist/director Gwenaëlle Gobé to Family Guy producer and director Mark Hentemann and Dominic Bianchi.

MIX: comics, comics, and more comics

This was the inaugural year for MIX, our comics symposium, which will take place again Sept. 27–28 with keynote speaker Jeff Smith.

What’s next?

Be sure to check out our Save the Date post for upcoming events on (and sometimes off) campus.

]]>http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2013/06/looking-back-on-a-busy-school-year/feed/1CCAD Unveils Another Year of Creative Excellence on May 13http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2011/05/ccad-unveils-another-year-of-creative-excellence-on-may-13/
http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2011/05/ccad-unveils-another-year-of-creative-excellence-on-may-13/#commentsThu, 05 May 2011 20:00:57 +0000Wordpress Administratorhttp://www.ccad.edu/blog/?p=8725

132nd Annual Student Exhibition

It is tradition for CCAD to end its academic year with a spectacular exhibition that reflects the best student art and design work created during the previous 12 months.

On Friday, May 13th we open SHOWthe 132nd Annual Student Exhibition, and even after 132 years, there is always a surprise or two.

One exciting new addition to this year’s SHOW is the MFA exhibition. CCAD’s recently launched graduate program, Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts: New Projects, will showcase the first year of work by the 11-member MFA class of 2012.

“It’s exciting because many of these graduate students are venturing out of their comfort zones,” said Graduate Studies Director Ric Petry. “They are taking risks and exploring new territory. We are finishing year one of a two-year program, so many of the works seen in the exhibition are setting the stage for what will be developed in their final thesis projects next year.”

MFA works, which will be exhibited on the second and third floors of Design Studios on Broad from 4-9 p.m. during the May 13 opening, include fiber arts, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and social/performance-based work.

While art and design work is presented throughout campus, the main Canzani Center Gallery comprises work by upper-level students who show a mastery of skill within their chosen disciplines. The Canzani Center will also be the focal point for Media Studies and Animation screenings, which are presented to a packed audience in the 400-seat auditorium from 6-8 p.m. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to be considered for the opening night screenings.

“Each division has their own method for selecting work in the show,” explained Director of Student Exhibitions Tim Rietenbach. “But the approach is generally the same: All faculty members collect the best work from their classes, which is then reviewed by a smaller group of senior faculty who choose the final pieces for the show.”

Although the process for choosing work remains relatively the same, there are several new features at the opening night celebration. In addition to the MFA exhibition, the Acock galleries (on the second-floor of the Canzani Center) will house, for opening night only, examples of Foundation Studies interactive group projects. Also, for the first time, CCAD’s Fashion Show fundraising event will take place the night of the exhibition opening. In past years the fundraising event was hosted a week earlier, and on the night of the exhibition opening, a smaller-scale version of the fashion show was presented in the auditorium. This year the full production and event will take place on opening night.

“Moving the fashion event to the same night as the exhibition opening just made sense,” explained Vice President for Institutional Advancement Stephanie Hightower. “This is our signature event and we bring more than 700 people to campus. We want our guests to experience our whole creative community and to share in the excitement and celebration that comes with this time of year.”

While some things have changed, other traditions continue. Each year the three-dimensional Illustration class brings to the exhibition a fun and quirky crowd favorite. Last year it was pirate bears, in the past we’ve seen animatronic spiders, Alice in Wonderland, a monster classroom, and robots. This year they’re making … well you’ll just have to come and see.

Find more details on the opening night schedule and event night parking on the event page.

CCAD Unveils Another Year of Creative Excellence on May 13

It is tradition for CCAD to end its academic year with a spectacular exhibition that reflects the best student art and design work created over the previous 12 months.

On Friday, May 13th we open SHOWthe 132nd Annual Student Exhibition, and even after 132 years, there is always a surprise or two.

One exciting new addition to this year’s SHOW is the addition of an MFA exhibition. CCAD’s recently launched graduate program, Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts: New Projects, will showcase the first year of work by the 11-member MFA class of 2012.

”It’s exciting because many of these graduate students are venturing out of their comfort zones,” said Graduate Studies Director Ric Petry. “They are taking risks and exploring new territory. We are finishing year one of a two-year program, so many of the works seen in the exhibition are setting the stage for what will be developed in their final thesis projects next year.”

MFA works, which will be exhibited on the second and third floors of Design Studios on Broad from 4-9 p.m. during the May 13 opening, include fiber arts, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and social/performance-based work.

While art and design work is presented throughout campus, the main Canzani Center Gallery comprises work by upper-level students who show a mastery of skill within their chosen disciplines. The Canzani Center will also be the focal point for Media Studies and Animation screenings, which are presented to a packed audience in the 400-seat auditorium from 6-8 p.m. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to be considered for the opening night screenings.

“Each division has their own method for selecting work in the show,” explained Director of Student Exhibitions Tim Rietenbach. “But the approach is generally the same: All faculty members collect the best work from their classes, which is then reviewed by a smaller group of senior faculty who choose the final pieces for the show.”

Although the process for choosing work remains relatively the same, there are several new features at the opening night celebration. In addition to the MFA exhibition, the Acock galleries (on the second-floor of the Canzani Center) will house, for opening night only, examples of Foundation Studies interactive group projects. Also, for the first time, CCAD’s Fashion Show fundraising event will take place the night of the exhibition opening. In past years the fundraising event was hosted a week earlier, and on the night of the exhibition opening, a smaller-scale version of the fashion show was presented in the auditorium. This year the full production and event will take place on opening night.

“Moving the fashion event to the same night as the exhibition opening just made sense,” explained Vice President for Institutional Advancement Stephanie Hightower. “This is our signature event and we bring more than 700 people to campus. We want our guests to experience our whole creative community and to share in the excitement and celebration that comes with this time of year.”

While some things have changed, other traditions continue. Each year the three-dimensional Illustration class brings to the exhibition a fun and quirky crowd favorite. Last year it was pirate bears, in the past we’ve seen animatronic spiders and scorpions, Alice in Wonderland, a monster classroom, and robots. This year they’re … well you’ll just have to come and see.

CCAD Unveils Another Year of Creative Excellence on May 13

It is tradition for CCAD to end its academic year with a spectacular exhibition that reflects the best student art and design work created over the previous 12 months.

On Friday, May 13th we open SHOWthe 132nd Annual Student Exhibition, and even after 132 years, there is always a surprise or two.

One exciting new addition to this year’s SHOW is the addition of an MFA exhibition. CCAD’s recently launched graduate program, Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts: New Projects, will showcase the first year of work by the 11-member MFA class of 2012.

”It’s exciting because many of these graduate students are venturing out of their comfort zones,” said Graduate Studies Director Ric Petry. “They are taking risks and exploring new territory. We are finishing year one of a two-year program, so many of the works seen in the exhibition are setting the stage for what will be developed in their final thesis projects next year.”

MFA works, which will be exhibited on the second and third floors of Design Studios on Broad from 4-9 p.m. during the May 13 opening, include fiber arts, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and social/performance-based work.

While art and design work is presented throughout campus, the main Canzani Center Gallery comprises work by upper-level students who show a mastery of skill within their chosen disciplines. The Canzani Center will also be the focal point for Media Studies and Animation screenings, which are presented to a packed audience in the 400-seat auditorium from 6-8 p.m. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to be considered for the opening night screenings.

“Each division has their own method for selecting work in the show,” explained Director of Student Exhibitions Tim Rietenbach. “But the approach is generally the same: All faculty members collect the best work from their classes, which is then reviewed by a smaller group of senior faculty who choose the final pieces for the show.”

Although the process for choosing work remains relatively the same, there are several new features at the opening night celebration. In addition to the MFA exhibition, the Acock galleries (on the second-floor of the Canzani Center) will house, for opening night only, examples of Foundation Studies interactive group projects. Also, for the first time, CCAD’s Fashion Show fundraising event will take place the night of the exhibition opening. In past years the fundraising event was hosted a week earlier, and on the night of the exhibition opening, a smaller-scale version of the fashion show was presented in the auditorium. This year the full production and event will take place on opening night.

“Moving the fashion event to the same night as the exhibition opening just made sense,” explained Vice President for Institutional Advancement Stephanie Hightower. “This is our signature event and we bring more than 700 people to campus. We want our guests to experience our whole creative community and to share in the excitement and celebration that comes with this time of year.”

While some things have changed, other traditions continue. Each year the three-dimensional Illustration class brings to the exhibition a fun and quirky crowd favorite. Last year it was pirate bears, in the past we’ve seen animatronic spiders and scorpions, Alice in Wonderland, a monster classroom, and robots. This year they’re … well you’ll just have to come and see.

Find more details on the opening night schedule and event night parking at

Find more details on the opening night schedule and event night parking at